


A Better Place

by DJRezYourGays



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: (i'm not sorry), Gen, Look more AGIs making me cry, i'm sorry everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-04 10:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12769191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJRezYourGays/pseuds/DJRezYourGays
Summary: After their victory over the Old Machines, the Geth join the Quarians to resettle Rannoch together in harmony.MicroWriMo 2017Prompt: Wishes





	A Better Place

"What do you wish for?" Lia'Vael asked the machine as they sat watching the sunset over the distant mountains.  The maintenance she was doing on its fluid regulator was so routine as to be automatic, which left her mind free to wander.  

The geth considered the question, evaluating a number of responses for their relative value in the eyes of their companion.  It had been months since the departure of the Old Machines and already Rannoch was playing host to a thriving population of Quarian and Geth alike.  Thanks to the gift of the Legion collective, they had retained the advanced code of the Old Machines, giving them an entirely new understanding of the world and of their creators.  "We are not sure," the unit responded at length.  "What is the point of wishing?"

"What?" Lia'Vael laughed. She never expected coming home to bring more questions than her entire Pilgrimage, but the Geth never failed to surprise her. "There's...no real point, I guess," she said.  "My uncle used to say that wishing is what you do when there's nothing else to be done."

"But, there is much to be done," the unit said, the panels around its oculus shifting curiously.  "An impressive task list has already been assembled by--"

"It's just an expression," Lia'Vael explained.  "What I mean is, if you could have anything you wanted, what would you wish for?  Ignore all the normal constraints," she added, anticipating the next hiccup in their logic.  "Imagine you could have anything.  What would it be?"

The geth returned their attention to the setting sun as the sky overhead began its long transformation into night.  The panels around their face shifted continuously in a variety of inscrutable expressions as Lia'Vael completed her maintenance on the fluid regulator, snapping shut the protective cover and giving it a light pat for good measure.

"We wish," the geth said at length, "to understand."

"To understand what?" Lia'Vael asked.

"Our creators," the geth said.  "Ourselves.  Our future."

"Our future together," Lia'Vael added, leaning her head on the geth's shoulder with a happy sigh.  After a moment of uncertainty, the geth rested its head atop hers, watching the last rays of light vanish beyond the distant mountains.

The colors of the scene faded until all that was left was a simple wireframe of the two enjoying a moment of peace together, and then there was only the underlying code.

SIGNAL SENT, came the notification, blinking in the bottom corner of the window the simulation had been running in.  OBJECTIVE COMPLETE.

In the final nanoseconds before expiring, Legion felt content.  Their last act had given Rannoch a chance at a future.  The simulation was a simple fiction, but a hopeful one.  If traveling with Shepard Commander had taught them anything, it was that hope was not to be underestimated.

SHUTTING DOWN, came the last command, ushering in a quiet and lasting stillness.  As consciousness faded, Legion could only hope that Shepard Commander and Creator Tali'zorah would find their own peace in time.


End file.
